Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Asian Retreat

An architect striving for an "Asian Feel" commissioned Concrete Arts to create a surface of his front landscaping area and river side patio. He wanted to incorporate a unique design, product and methodology for this 1,340 square foot area. The result was a clever combination of local materials with an Eastern feel. The lake side patio was poured with our custom Revealed blend of white portland cement and salt and pepper granite aggregates. The front sidewalk was also poured with this mix with granite pepples hand placed in a diamond pattern. The pepples were slightly elevated above the rest of the surface area for texture.




Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/



Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Remembering Nativity

Nativity Catholic School
250 quotes and 2,600 square feet in memory of Nativity

The Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Parish in St. Paul, MN put on a fundraiser for its private school. The fundraiser consisted of featuring an area in the front
entrance to the school commemorating loved ones and past members of the school and parish.

The 35 year old concrete was tore out and poured new with an integral color, Slate Gray. This 2,600 square foot area was then etched with a retarder to create a
beautiful Sand Cast texture.

All 250 quotes were then sand blasted into the concrete where we previously cut faux joints in the shape of the Nativity emblem. Instead of a separate pour or
staining, we sealed the surface with two different products, Siloxean and Acrylic
Solvent Based Sealer. These sealers created two different finishes on the Sand Cast accenting the boarders, stairs, and sandblasted areas.

Nativity now has a beautiful entrance to the school where people take note of it’s history and legacy. To you Nativity, we say thank you.


Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

Friday, October 2, 2009

A Boy Scout Tribute

A Sand Cast plaza adds beauty and elegance to commemorate the start of boy scouts.

A boy scout statue stood alone for many years unnoticed. As an effort by the Hudson community, a plaza area was designed around this statue to commemorate the achievements of the Boy Scouts.

A Sand Cast texture was chosen because of its durability and cost effectiveness. This texture resembles sand blasted concrete and can incorporate specialized colored sands and or aggregates. This mix however, used the typical concrete mix.

The plaza area had two separate pours. One Pour was integrally colored with Oxford Brown. The second pour was a Beach Sand. The Beach Sand texture was later stained with an Mission Brown to accent squares in front of the benches that surround the plaza.

A monumental feature was precasted to hold all the names of the donators and a write up of the history of the Boy Scouts. This 1200 lb precast piece was stained mission brown to match the accent squares.

The Boy Scout statue now is a focal point of the Hudson down town river front area. The plaza now adds beauty and elegance to the walkways that surround the Pier and St. Croix river area of Hudson, WI.



Carly Dus
Concrete Arts

Friday, September 25, 2009

Dream Home 2009, Parade of Homes

With such an immaculate home and beautiful artistry, one might overlook the simple yet elegant details of the 2009 Dream Home.

Concrete Arts teamed up and worked closely with Charles Cudd De Novo in creating the architectural exterior work for the Dream Home in Orono, MN. With such strong features, walk ways, patios, stoops, and the pool areas needed to match the artistry of the home's rich, classic décor.

There was over 3,500 square feet of concrete work for the home’s exterior. A traditional Ashlar slate pattern was chosen with a simple saw cut border deemed the perfect choice in featuring the home’s exterior. Curved edges and design scores added interest and detailing that created focal points for large areas and walk ways.

To match the home’s exterior, Concrete Arts created a custom color to integrally color the decorative concrete. An antique release was sprayed on to add dimension and depth. Take a look at the photos below!

Carly Dus
Concrete Arts

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Exterior of your home

Concrete Arts encompasses every aspect of Interior and Exterior surfacing including one of the most important element to a home, siding.

Many common types of siding are going to be wood, vinyl, aluminum, brick, stone, stucco and a few more options. Another alternative is a Concrete Art product, Karvkrete. Karvekrete is going to have similarities of Cement Fiber Siding. However, there are many differences.

Karvekrete is a decorative, integrally colored concrete plaster finish for interior and exterior use. It creates an “old-world” look and emulates antique and textured stones. Concrete Arts finished a project a while back for a homes exterior. Take at look at the photos below and explore what Karvekrete is all about.

Carly Dus
Concrete Arts

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Sandscape Driveway

I had an opportunity to check out a beautiful past project we did around White Bear Lake in MN a couple years ago. The project was a Revealed surface on a driveway. The project itself held a very unique element along with a gorgeous application process of a Revealed. The color and texture add so much subtle dimension to the exterior landscaping of the home.

How the driveway was laid out just shows how a little creativity can add so mush depth and beauty to a home. This home is truly unique because of this driveway. It allows for guests to wonder about the beauty that lies within the home when driving/walking to the home.

See the great pictures below.

Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/



Thursday, July 23, 2009

New Website is Finally Up!

This has been a long awaited moments. The new and definitely improved Concrete Arts website is up.

The new site was designed to allow the consumer to view as many projects without getting overwhelmed. With hopes to inspire new ideas for your home or work place, this site features elements that allow for minds to wonder with thoughts on how to create your new patio, walkway, countertop, driveway, Fireplace etc.

Browse through the site and let us know how you feel. Suggestions are always welcomed. http://www.concretearts.com/


Carly Dus
Concrete Arts